Deon Fourie and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach hosted a media conference in Sydney on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Australia at the Allianz Stadium.

Kick off is at 11:20 am South African Time (7:20 pm Sydney Time).

Deon André Fourie (born 25 September 1986) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays for Western Province in the South African Provincial Currie Cup competition. His regular playing positions are Hooker and Loose forward. Fourie previously played for the Western Province provincial team and the Stormers Super Rugby team. Fourie captained Western Province to Currie Cup champions in 2012. He represented South Africa at 7s level internationally in 2007. In April 2013, Fourie signed a deal that will keep him in Cape Town until 2015. However, he gained an early release from the contract to join French Top 14 side Lyon prior to the 2014–15 Top 14 season.

Jacobus Meyer Reinach was born on 7 February 1990 in Bloemfontein. His dad, Jaco, won four caps on the wing for the Springboks in 1986, but died in a car accident in 1997 when Cobus was just six. “He was my childhood hero,” says Reinach. “He passed away early and I didn’t have an understanding of what he’d done until much later, but then I watched all the videos of him.” He says the best advice he was given was to “back yourself. If you don’t, why would anyone else?” Reinach, who made his South Africa debut against Australia in September 2014, scored the fastest hat-trick (from the start of a match) in Rugby World Cup history in 2019. He scored three tries in the first 21 minutes of the Boks’ emphatic 66-7 win against Canada in Kobe. When he was a youngster, he practised putting drop-goals through the empty windows of a house that was being built nearby. “I’d always pretend to be Freddie Michalak,” he says. “Then for my first Sharks game he was my room-mate!” He became a fans’ favourite while at Northampton Saints between 2017 and 2020, and he was shortlisted for the Premiership Player of the Year award in the 2018-19 season. “The villages around Northampton are so beautiful,” he said of his time at the club. “Where we lived had the farm-type feel of back home. There were horses in front of the house and it was so green.” He and wife Frances had their first son, Righardt, in March 2019. He says: “Fatherhood is unbelievable. It gives you a new perspective. I’m a hands-on father and help as much as I can.” He also says of marriage: “My wife and I once saw this expression written on a wall: ‘Walk alone you’ll walk fast, walk together you’ll walk far’. With no one to think about, you can do what you want. When you’re with your partner, it’s about walking the road together, helping each other when you’re struggling. It was a key moment for us.” Reinach says his faith is important to him but he adds: “It’s what I believe in. There are a lot of different faiths and people can believe or not believe – it doesn’t matter. What’s important is to be nice to each other and human towards each other.” He is known for scoring interception tries and says: “There is risk and reward; you have to back your decision because if you’re half-hearted you could get yellow-carded. I always work on my pace and aim to get quicker every year.” He describes his honeymoon as his best holiday. The couple went to the Serengeti and then to an island off Mozambique.

Springbok team to face Australia in Sydney:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 76 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 53 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 35 pts (7t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 30 caps, 105 pts (21t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 12 pts (1t, 2c, 1p)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 7 caps, 5 pts (1t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 15 caps, 0 pts
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 56 caps, 5pts (1t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 68 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 61 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 103 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 52 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 64 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0pts
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 12 caps, 0pts
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 57 caps, 5pts (1t)
19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 24 caps, 15 pts (3t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 21 caps, 40pts (8t)
22 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 75 caps, 150 pts (11t, 7c, 24p, 3d)
23 – Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) – 11 caps, 15 pts (3t)

Springbok record against the Wallabies in Australia: Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points against: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest score 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 points in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%.

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Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE

Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

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